Traffic rerouted for work near Pittsburgh Zoo

PennDOT will be replacing the crumbling Heth's Run Bridge that carries Butler Street at the end of the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in Highland Park.

By Jon Schmitz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Traffic on Butler Street near the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in Highland Park will be shifted to a temporary road today, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced.

The road crosses the zoo parking lot, bypassing a bridge that will be demolished and replaced, the department said.

Beginning at about 9 a.m., crews will shift traffic to the temporary road, which will run from One Wild Place to Baker Street. Drivers going in both directions will have access to One Wild Place and the zoo. Traffic moving toward Downtown Pittsburgh will enter the temporary road at One Wild Place, turn right at a new signal at Baker Street and go left to return to Butler.

The traffic signal at Butler and Baker has been removed for the detour, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said.

Motorists may encounter delays today as crews place barriers and paint lines.

Heavy truck traffic will be detoured around the construction zone because longer trucks will be unable to make the tight turns required on the temporary road, Mr. Cowan said.

The 327-foot-long Heth's Run Bridge, built in 1914 and rated structurally deficient, will be replaced. The $14.9 million project includes reconstruction of 870 feet of Butler Street, improvements to One Wild Place and upgraded drainage, sidewalks and traffic signals.

The target date for opening the new bridge to traffic is October 2014 and the overall project is expected to conclude in December 2014.

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